Disclaimer: So this is another one that faces some pretty big changes. It also introduces an OC I added in to add to the story's themes about unity and living life. After this, it's one more chapter of the New Lion Guard arc. I hope you're all ready!

Also, I don't own Lion Guard.

The Lion Guard: Unity

New Lion Guard arc Episode Five: Kupatana

In a beautiful line in between trees, a female voice was singing to the humming of some other animals. "Kupatana community. One day... for unity. Gather together in peeeace. Our Kupatana community."

The Ostrich in the choir started singing confidently until Zazu reacted negatively to a mispronunciation. He gestured everyone to stop before addressing it. He flew over to the ostrich to do so. "Mbuni. It's ma-un-de-lay-e-oh, ya uhhi. Remember that for tonight!" Mbuni gave a smiling nod before Zazu flew back to his post. Once he got back into position, he continued the rehearsal.

Some distance away, Simba was seen overhearing the rehearsal. He turned to the Guard, who was also listening in. "Your dad is sounding quite good, Beshte."

"Thanks, your Majesty." Beshte said, happy for his father. "He's been practicing. It's not every day you get to be a part of the Kupatana Celebration."

"Well, considering Kupatana is a once in a year celebration." Ono reminded Beshte smugly.

"And I can't wait!" Bunga exclaimed when running up to Kion. He even climbed on top of him out of excitement. "It's the biggest party in the Pridelands!"

"It's way more than a party, Bunga." Kion reminded Bunga.

Simba backed up Kion's reminder, getting the Guard's attention. "That's right, son. Kupatana is the one day all the animals in the Pridelands gather side by side, to celebrate the circle of life in peace."

Fuli stretched before lying down, showing her love for the day as well. "The one day with no trouble in sight." The cries in the distance soon proved Fuli wrong. Her frustrated expression said it all. "I spoke too soon."

Ono had already flown up to get a look at what the disturbance was. He caught sight of two terrified jackal pups running from Janja. "Yep! It's Janja and his hyenas! They're chasing two little jackal pups through the Outlands!"

"At least they're respecting our day off." Kion joked before expressing worry for the jackal pups. "I wish we could save those jackal pups though. I heard the young ones are smaller and frailer than most other predators."

"Interesting fact, Kion." Simba said, impressed by his son's revelation. "It's usually Ono who shares such knowledge."

"Oh, um, thanks. A friend of mine told me." Kion shared. He not dare tell Simba he learned it from Jasiri.

Simba, knowing his son's sense of justice, encouraged him to do what he thought was right. "Kupatana isn't exclusive to the Pridelands, Kion. The peaceful spirit extends to all animals in the Circle of Life. Even those in the Outlands." He shared one final note before letting him set off. One that hit a personal note with him, since he almost forgot the feeling of peace when he was young. "Young spirits should be blessed with Kupatana!"

Kion took his father's words to heart and immediately got to action. "You're right, dad! Cmon, Lion Guard! Let's help spread the Spirit of Kupatana!"

Kion started running ahead with his friends following him. Beshte was first to express his readiness. "You got it, Kion!"

Bunga ran alongside Kion to express his joy in the matter. "I'm also ready to spread Zuka Zama!"

"One head smash at a time, Bunga." Kion said with a smirk. "Till the Pridelands end..."

"Lion Guard defend!"

The two jackal pups continued to run from Janja and his clan. But Janja was dead set on catching them. "There they go! Cmon, fellas!" These must've been some crafty jackals if Janja brought four hyenas with him. One of the jackals had a brief look of confidence, whereas the other seemed to be surprised by the rush. They made a sudden turn, catching the hyenas off guard. "Uh-oh!"

After the jackals ran into a corner, one of them expressed how excited they were by the chase. The other laughed at Janja's clan before he did. "This feels great, Dogo! Is this supposed to feel great? I don't think it was supposed to feel great, but it feels great!"

Dogo was confused, but did his best to respond. "Um... no. I don't think so."

"Enough jabbering!" Janja shouted as he approached the two. They put on cute faces to throw him off. "Ooh, you jackals are so annoying!" The other four hyenas joined him quickly. "I shoulda known ya wouldn't take the hint yesterday! Two days, and you just might become my most annoyin hassle yet." He gave a vicious grin as he approached alone. "Guess I need ta make an example of ya." The two put extra work into their innocence. But Janja wasn't having it. "Nice try, brats." Janja charged at the jackals, who lowered their ears in fear.

Kion emerged from the rock behind the jackals with his trademark cocky smile. "I could say the same to you, Janja!" Janja skidded to a stop before Kion jumped in front of the jackals. He put his paw up to stop him before smiling back at the jackals. "Don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay."

The jackals smiled gratefully before Janja questioned Kion's presence in the Outlands. "Fess up, Kion! It's not like you to pull something I would do."

"Sorry dude. These jackal pups are off the menu." Kion said, explaining his intentions instantly.

"Yeah!" Bunga called from above. His next words caught Janja's attention. "Don't you know today's Kupatana!?"

For some reason, that made Janja change his mind. "Ku-Ku-Kupatana?" Janja laughed a bit before putting on a friendly face. "How could I forget?" Janja turned around and headed off, surprising Kion and the others when they joined him. "Okay, Kion. You want the pups, they're all yours."

"Thanks, Janja." Kion responded, giving a smile, despite being as surprised as his friends. "See ya next time ya wanna be a furbrain?"

"Whatever floats your boat, Kion." Janja said with an eyeroll. "Cmon, fellas! The Lion Guard's doin us a favor today." Janja ran off with his clan, laughing as he called back to the Guard. "Merry Kupatana!"

Ono was the first to express shock with the change in Janja's attitude. "He's usually more desperate."

"Janja celebrates Kupatana too?" Beshte asked curiously.

"I seriously doubt it." Fuli deadpanned. While she did understand what Simba said before, she felt there had to be SOME exceptions. Right?

Dogo then surprised Fuli by popping up next to her. "Thanks, you guys!"

The other jackal chimed in next, jumping up to Bunga. "You were awesome!" He did the same when heading over to Kion. "You were like 'sorry dude; these jackal pups are off the menu', whatever a menu is, and they ran off!"

Dogo went to the other Jackal, who started stamping his paws excitedly. When he gestured him to stop, Fuli ignored it, too distracted by how easily things went. "Yeah, but why?"

Kion didn't seem to mind it. He was just glad the jackal pups were safe. "Well, whatever a boat is, I'm glad we could convince him to let you guys go. Um..."

"I'm Dogo!" Dogo said when he and his brother started jumping and walking around.

"And I'm Stadi!" The other jackal pup revealed. "And you guys must be the Lion Guard."

Dogo and Stadi then jumped up on opposite sides of Beshte. "You're the coolest!"

Stadi circled around Bunga after that. "You just looked at the hyenas and they ran away!"

"Yeah. We have that effect on no-goods." Bunga said confidently.

"Especially yours truly." Kion boasted, earning an eye roll from Fuli. "Anyway, you two are safe now. In the future, try to stay away from Janja's territory."

"Are you guys headed back to the Pridelands?" Dogo asked excitedly. "We know we'd be safe there."

Beshte showed concern for the pups. "Don't you pups need to get back to your family?"

Stadi let out a sigh before he and Dogo lowered their ears. "We're all by ourselves. But we're sure there are lots of friendly animals in the Pridelands!"

That's when the please faces came in from both pups. "Can we please come with you?"

Bunga and Beshte couldn't resist gushing. "Awwww."

"Well, it is Kupatana." Stadi and Dogo beamed in preparation for Kion's decision. "What the heck? You seem like friendly faces."

"Woo!" Stadi and Dogo started yipping happily while moving around like crazy.

Somewhere nearby, a grown jackal overheard her two pups. "Just like I taught them." The jackal laughed a bit before expressing how easily her plan was executed. "Two days of living in this craphole, and we've already got the Lion Guard wrapped around our claws." She ran back over to her husband, who was snoozing away. She nudged him lovingly to let him know. "Get up, GoiGoi! They did it!"

GoiGoi woke up, confused at first, and annoyed at his nap being interrupted. "Aw, I was sleepin, ReiRei." But then, he realized what his wife said. "Wait. Stadi and Dogo pulled it off!?"

"They sure did!" ReiRei confirmed. "And when you invite ONE jackal..."

"You invite us all." GoiGoi finished, heading off to round up the others. "I'll go round up the rest of the kids."

"Overhearing that conversation yesterday really was a blessing in disguise." ReiRei laughed a bit before tapping her paw excitedly. She was ecstatic over everything going according to plan. "When that stupid peace ceremony comes, the Pridelands won't know what hit em."

After returning to the Pridelands, Fuli began expressing concern to Kion about Stadi and Dogo. "You sure about this, Kion?" She got in front of Kion concernedly, backing up as he walked forward. "It seemed like Janja couldn't WAIT to get rid of those jackals."

"It does seem odd." Ono admitted when flying over to them.

"It's Janja. He's never NOT odd." Kion pointed out, laughing a bit before getting sincere. "And I think Stadi and Dogo should at least get a chance. They're all by themselves after all. They deserve to be blessed with Kupatana."

Bunga smiled to Stadi and Dogo, who were walking beside him and Beshte. "You two picked a great day to get chased by hyenas."

"We did?" Dogo asked, feigning ignorance.

"Is there gonna be a party?" Stadi asked, adding to the facade. Although, a party did sound nice.

"Something like that." Beshte began to explain. He looked up to the baobab trees with the three. "Tonight, all these baobab trees will bloom for the very first time."

"It's an unbungalievable sight that everyone in the Pridelands gets to enjoy!" Bunga exclaimed with joy and excitement.

"It's what we call, Kupatana." Beshte finished.

"We've heard about Kupatana. I bet seeing it's even better!" Dogo said happily.

Stadi seemed genuinely fascinated by the sound of Kupatana. "Wow. It sounds beautiful."

"Okay, I gotta say something." Fuli said, having concerns about inviting Stadi and Dogo to Kupatana. "We can't just invite them to Kupatana. They're Outlanders!"

"And I have concerns about their story, which I admit, I should've brought up sooner." Ono admitted. He started rambling again, but he did impress Stadi and Dogo with what he knew about jackals. "Jackals sometimes like to travel alone, but their parents wouldn't allow that until they were older; and if they WERE orphaned at a young age, that could help their story add up, but even with how-"

Kion gently patted Ono's back to tell him to stop. "I'll admit. It's a little sudden to have guests from the Outlands attending Kupatana." Stadi and Dogo's cute smiles sold Kion on the idea. "But Stadi and Dogo are still young. Like us. This might be good for them. Cmon."

Fuli was still skeptical, but Bunga and Beshte were glad. "Poa!"

"Alright!" Bunga said after Beshte, and the two jackals yipped again when heading off with the Guard. Nearby, ReiRei and GoiGoi popped up, snickering over how well the plan was going.

Shortly after that, Kion showed Stadi and Dogo a nice hillside they could reside on for Kupatana. "This hillside should be perfect for you two."

"No arguments here." Bunga said, taking a liking to it himself. "Plenty of space to nap, eat, and play!"

Bunga's use of the word play intrigued Stadi and Dogo. Dogo didn't pay much mind to it, but Stadi did. How did someone, play? Before he could think deeply about it, Beshte backed Kion and Bunga up. "Just a short trot to the watering hole. And look at the view!"

Stadi and Dogo looked at the view Beshte was referring to. Gazelles, giraffes, birds, and elephants alike were all by the watering hole. Seeing all of these animals in one place so peaceful amazed Stadi. The Pridelands really were a beautiful place. He couldn't help but be enamored by what he saw. And in such a short time no less. "Kuona Nini."

Dogo tried to stay focused on the mission, seeming nervous when smiling to the Guard. "Okay. Well, thanks."

Beshte quickly noticed Dogo was nervous and showed concern. "You okay Dogo?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Dogo said, trying to hide his family's plan.

Kion noticed Stadi admiring the view and decided not to disturb him. Instead, he got to dividing the Guard for patrol. This would also help Stadi and Dogo get used to the Pridelands. "Welcome to the Pridelands, you two. Now then. We should split up to finish out patrol in time for Kupatana. Bunga, Beshte, the watering hole's all yours."

"Sounds good." Beshte said, and Bunga gave a salute.

"Ono, Fuli, you're with me." Kion told Fuli and Ono. "We'll all meet up back at the lair." Before leaving, Kion gave Stadi and Dogo a friendly smile. "You two can explore the Pridelands if you want. Whatever you think sounds the most fun." That word caught Stadi's attention too. It seemed he wasn't used to hearing words like that. And neither was Dogo.

As the Lion Guard dispersed, Stadi ran up to Dogo as they both looked around. After Dogo sat down in relief, Stadi asked him something. "Hey Dogo?" Dogo gave Stadi his full attention. "What do you think Kion meant by... fun?"

"I dunno." Dogo admitted with a shrug. His answer didn't help calm Stadi's mind.

"My clever boys." Stadi and Dogo's ears shot up upon hearing ReiRei, who revealed herself along with GoiGoi.

"Mom! Mom!" Dogo excitedly ran over to ReiRei and GoiGoi, and Stadi smiled as he walked over to them. "You heard our signal!"

"I sure did, my little tricksters." ReiRei said while rubbing her sons' heads. "Thanks to you, we're all here, in the beautiful, meal-filled Pridelands!"

"Yep! This place sure beats the Outlands." GoiGoi said before smacking his lips.

Dogo jumped eagerly when he spoke up again. "We really fooled the Lion Guard, didn't we?"

"You sure did. Dogo, Stadi, great job." ReiRei praised, but then questioned why her sons were just standing around. "But now that the Guard's gone, why're you just sitting on this hill?"

"The Lion Guard told us we could stay here for now." Stadi said. When his mother's face showed annoyance he quickly added. "We thought we'd pretend to listen to them before things got sneaky." ReiRei nodded her head in agreement, so Stadi felt it was safe to ask his next question. "But also, mom? What's... fun?"

ReiRei, failing to see her son's confusion, gave her usual answer to questions like this. "Something we don't have time for. Unless you consider survival fun." ReiRei looked around, and Stadi was left unsatisfied with an answer once again.

GoiGoi was starting to get impatient. "When's this Kupatana thing start anyway? I'm hungry."

"In a while, honey." ReiRei responded before getting back on track. "In the meantime, let's make ourselves at home. Jackal style." Stadi and Dogo set off to do their part. Stadi had an ulterior motive however: learning what fun was.

An elephant was washing herself as Beshte caught her attention. "Hey Ma Tembo! Happy Kupatana."

"Happy Kupatana, Beshte!" The friendly elephant called.

Next, Beshte greeted the ostrich from earlier. "Happy Kupatana, Mbuni. See you at the celebration tonight?"

"Yep. Can't wait." Mbuni answered happily.

"Heya Dogo. Or Stadi." Beshte said as he and Bunga passed a familiar jackal pup. The two stopped to look back when they realized something. "Huh?"

The jackal was sleeping snuggly in a den. Bunga couldn't help but gush. "Awww. Who's a cute little guy?"

Bunga and Beshte walked up to the jackal. "Too bad this is Muganha the aardvark's den. I'd hate to wake him up." Bunga saw Beshte's point and nudged the jackal himself. When the pup opened his eyes, they realized this was Dogo. He had blue eyes, and Stadi had green eyes. "Sorry to wake you, Dogo. It's just that, this den is taken. Your spot's on the hill by the watering hole."

"Oh, right. Okay!" Dogo said before running off with a smile.

Bunga and Beshte went in the opposite direction and Beshte shared his thoughts. "Poor little guy must've gone for a walk and gotten lost."

"Makes sense. He's totally new here." Bunga responded, only for him and Beshte to encounter another surprise. "Whoa!" Another jackal was sleeping in another already owned den. That was when Bunga started to get suspicious. "Hang on. If Dogo went THAT way, how did he get here so quickly?"

"It's probably Stadi." Beshte suggested, allowing Bunga to nudge him to wake him up. They failed to notice that this jackal had brown eyes instead of green. "This den belongs to someone else too. You know how to get back to your hill?"

The jackal gave a nervous smile before heading off. Bunga continued the conversation from before. "Maybe we shoulda shown them around more?" Bunga and Beshte were then surprised to find a third jackal pup sleeping in an already taken den! Bunga's earlier question came back once again. "You thinkin what I'm thinkin?" Beshte nodded his head yes before Bunga went and picked up the jackal pup. He shook her before asking his question. "Listen up, pup! Are you a second Dogo, or Stadi!?"

"I'm neither, you smelly loudmouth!" The jackal pup shouted before smacking Bunga. This pup's eyes were teal. "And who said you could wake me up!? You're not my daddy!" The pup's shouting caused several other jackal pups to emerge from nearby dens.

Beshte and Bunga gave each other a glance and nod. That was when two aardvarks were seen coming to their home; a male, and a female. And they looked upset at the sight. "Hey! What's goin on here?"

"What are these jackals doing in our dens?" The female asked, adding to the male's question.

"Easy, everybody. Easy. We'll take care of this." Beshte said assuredly.

"We sure will!" Bunga exclaimed, and then looked to Beshte for ideas. "How?" Beshte shrugged in response.

Elsewhere in the Pridelands, Kion, Fuli, and Ono were dealing with a hyrax stuck in a thorn bush. Kion watched him move to the bottom as he let out a laugh. "You've really gotta pick better hiding spots, dude." The hyrax nodded in agreement, and Kion bent down to his level. His butt was pointed up as he tried to lift the thorn. "I think I can move this thorn up high enough to stick my paw through. But I'll need you to get closer." The hyrax nodded, getting closer as Kion got to work. He used a claw to gently pull the thorn up, and then put his paw underneath it to pull the hyrax out. But as soon as he did, Ono was shown in the path of where his butt was pointed as... "Gotcha!"

PHHHHHHHHHHT

...Kion's tail flagged and his butt vibrated when a five second fart of rotting meat snuck out of him. He accidentally hit Ono with it, and the release made him flinch. The fart was strong enough to knock Ono into a nearby tree. Stadi was close by, and caught sight of the whole thing. Because of how high up Ono was shot, he hit three branches on the way down. Stadi cringed at the sight of it. That had to leave a mark. When the avian landed on the ground, he just layed there, snarking about what just happened. "I knew I should've moved."

Fuli laughed at the scenario, and Kion laughed as he called over to Ono. "Sorry, Ono!"

"No problem." Ono replied, despite coughing from Kion's noxious fart smell. It didn't help that the leaves in the tree were withering. Stadi helped Ono up as Kion accepted the hyrax's thanks. Ono thanked Stadi at the same time. "Thanks Stadi."

Kion and Fuli went over to Stadi, who kept his smile. "Why did you fart on Ono?"

Kion blushed and chuckled nervously. He hoped Stadi wouldn't have seen that. "It kinda slipped out."

Fuli decided to change the subject and checked to see what Stadi needed. "Did you want our help with something?"

"Um... yeah." Stadi admitted before turning to Kion. "Kion. What's... fun?"

His question left Kion, Fuli, and Ono surprised. Before Kion could respond, Bunga and Beshte called to him from afar. "KION!"

"Sorry, Stadi. It'll have to wait." Fuli intervened, knowing this had to be important.

"Can you still see, Ono?" Kion asked, hoping the incident didn't mess with his sight.

"After last week, you bet I can!" Ono took off into the sky before setting his sights for Bunga and Beshte. What he saw concerned him. "Hapana. Kion! I think you need to see this for yourself!"

Kion wasn't sure what that was about. But he trusted Ono. "Uh, okay, Ono. Lead the way!"

Ono did as instructed, and Stadi ran with them. Seeing a Lion Guard mission sounded cool. "Can I come!?"

"Sure, but make sure to stay out of trouble." Kion advised.

"Awesome! Maybe watching you can help me learn what fun is!" Stadi's wording concerned Kion, but he brushed it off for now. They had to focus on the current problem.

Dogo was watching as his siblings ran from the aardvarks. The female aardvark helped assume control of their territory. "That's right; get outta there!"

The male aardvark made a jackal move. "Did you eat all my ants?"

The jackal feigned worry as Beshte came to his defense. "Easy there. I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

Kion arrived, surprised to see what was going on. "Hevi Kabisa!"

"That's a lotta jackals." Fuli commented while eyeing Stadi. It would seem his words from before weren't entirely truthful.

"Stay with me, Stadi." Kion requested, which Stadi did as they went over to the pups. He took a deep breath on the way over there to avoid losing his composure. "Where's Dogo?"

"You looking for my boy?" Kion turned to find ReiRei walking up to him. "Didn't mean to startle ya. I'm ReiRei. And these cheeky cheeksters are my pups." Kion and ReiRei heard the sound of digging. They looked to find GoiGoi digging into an aardvark's den. ReiRei deadpanned when introducing him. "That groundhog wannabee is my mate, GoiGoi. He's sweet, but very dense."

GoiGoi perked up with a fruit, eating it before expressing his joy. "Gotta hand it to you, aardvarks. You have good taste in fruit."

"We didn't say you could eat it!" The male aardvark shouted.

"You're a thief is what you are!" The female aardvark stated.

Kion started to get stressed and frustrated as ReiRei pretended to be apologetic. "Oh, I'm so sorry about this. My family can be quite the handful. And GoiGoi always forgets his manners."

"Okay, I need some answers here!" Kion demanded, looking around to find Dogo. "Which of you pups is Dogo?"

Dogo approached Kion with a smile. "I'm right here, Kion!" Once he sat down, Stadi sat next to him.

Now that he had both pups' attention, Kion got to the point. "Stadi, Dogo, I thought you two said you didn't have any family."

"Actually, we said we were by ourselves." Stadi clarified while smiling innocently. "Which we were. At the time."

"You just CHOSE to interpret that as us being orphans." Dogo added.

ReiRei came over to defend her sons. "My boys always tell the truth." Yeah, that was a big fat lie. "We can't thank you enough for saving my boys from those nasty hyenas." The jackal pups all gathered around their mother. "And please understand, we had to make sure Stadi and Dogo were safe here. I mean, what kind of parents would let their kids explore a new area alone?"

The jackals all gave please faces, but that wasn't the only reason Kion cared. Actually, he noticed how many kids ReiRei had, and it showed him that she has a lot of responsibility. Just like he does now. In a different way, of course. It helped him show compassion to her. "You must really care about all your pups." Kion said as he noticed Dogo put a paw on ReiRei's. Someone was a mama's boy. "Still-"

Just then, a voice was heard in the distance. "Help! Help!"

Ono flew up and saw that a rhino was stuck in a mud pit. He instantly flew down to warn the others. "It's Mbeya the rhino, Kion! He's trapped in a mud pit by Lake Matope!"

"We'll need to get moving!" Beshte exclaimed, knowing how dangerous mud pits could be for heavy animals.

Before heading out, Kion set a boundary with ReiRei and her family. "I won't make you leave, ReiRei. But I want you to stay away from the aardvark dens, unless they're okay with the company. And leave their food alone. Got it?"

"Of course." ReiRei said assuredly. "And I'm so sorry for any misunderstanding."

Kion then addressed Stadi, knowing he hadn't answered his question from before. "I'll answer your question later, Stadi. Just stay out of trouble before then." Stadi smiled before Kion headed off. "Lion Guard! Follow me!"

ReiRei continued feigning kindness as she guided her children away. "Cmon, kiddies. Let's leave these nice aardvarks alone for now. Maybe we'll get an invite later."

"Eh, we'll think about it." The male aardvark said. It was Kupatana after all. "Key word being; think."

Once the jackal family were in the clear, GoiGoi expressed his love for the Pridelands. "You were right, honey. This place is the best!"

ReiRei zipped over to GoiGoi when lovingly putting her paw on his chest. "Just wait until that big ol Kupatana celebration, sweetie. The biggest buffet we'll ever find!" ReiRei licked her lips at the sound of it. Dogo sat in front of his mother once her greed and hunger showed. "Now, let's help ourselves to more of the Pridelanders' generosity."

"But mom. What if the Lion Guard gets mad and kicks us out?" Dogo asked concernedly.

ReiRei felt Dogo could use a reminder. "Dogo, Dogo, Dogo. This is the one day these silly Pridelanders will let us get away with anything. Anything we want!" She leaned in closer to her son with a gleeful smile. "As long as we do it, jackal style!"

ReiRei noticed Stadi walking up to her and gave him her full attention. "You okay, son? You look down."

"Just thinking." Stadi said in response. "Kion said to do whatever we think is most fun. But I don't know what fun is."

Dogo noticed how confused Stadi was by this. ReiRei failed to notice, being too focused on getting the family fed. She rubbed his head to show that she cared despite this. "Sorry, squirt. We don't have time" Stadi was disappointed, but didn't argue. He knew this was important to his family. "Let's split up. We can cover more ground that way, and with less of a chance at getting spotted. I trust you know how to sneak around."

"Yes, mom!" Stadi and Dogo said in sync. The two split off alongside their family. But Stadi was still focused on what fun meant. Maybe observing the Pridelanders could help.

A baboon was about to shoot a banana into his mouth, only for his tree to shake. He accidentally shot the banana downward as a result. Stadi slid on his back at just the right angle before catching the banana in his mouth. He loved the taste of it. It was so mushy and flavorful. When he swallowed, he rubbed his tummy, and then a little something else came out.

Urp

Stadi giggled in response before walking off. "Scuze me." As delighted as he was to learn the taste of bananas, he still called back to the baboon. "Sorry about that!" The baboon simply went for another banana. He didn't see any reason to fight a kid.

Stadi continued walking around Lake Matope, smiling as he thought about what fun was. He saw Mtoto and a couple other animals playing tag nearby. They seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. This fascinated him. He'd never seen kids his age act like this before. For some reason, ReiRei never really gave him, or his siblings opportunities to play. The baby emu tagged Mtoto before running off. "Tag! You're it!"

Mtoto and the emu laughing made Stadi's tail start to wag. He felt like he'd enjoy that game. But his smile dropped when he questioned that possibility. Would they really be willing to play with someone they've never met before? His thoughts were disturbed by Mbeya's voice. "Thank you so much."

Stadi looked to find that the Guard had gotten Mbeya out of the mud. He walked in their direction when Kion responded. "Hakuna Matata, Mbeya."

"Happens to all of us sometimes." Beshte added.

Ono was walking around, struggling to keep his cool over how today was going. First Kion farted on him, and now he was covered in mud. "Maybe next time, you could get stuck in water. It's much cleaner."

Stadi laughed a bit, catching the Guard's attention as he came over. "Water isn't sticky, Ono."

"That's not the point." Ono stated bluntly. And then, they all heard commotion coming from nearby. Stadi showed concern. Given how today was going, he knew who the culprit had to be.

The Guard arrived at the scene, and Ono started doing damage control. "Nothing to see here. Move along."

ReiRei feigned innocence again with GoiGoi and Dogo beside her. "My sincerest apologies, Kion. For some reason, the animals around here are really ruffled."

"Yeah. We didn't take anything from the aardvarks." GoiGoi said in defense of his family.

"Maybe not the aardvarks." Kion started with an eyebrow raise. "But I think the zebras, elephants, hippos, and several other animals have some choice words for you."

GoiGoi's eyes darted to the side as he struggled to counter that point. Dogo stepped in with his family's usual excuse. "It was just a misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?" Fuli asked, starting to lose her patience. Stadi tried to hide his guilt with a smile as Fuli called the family out. "Is that what you call stealing others' food and invading their homes in the Outlands?"

"I wouldn't know. We've only lived there for two days." ReiRei revealed, which surprised the Lion Guard. "We've spent most of our lives away from this area. We don't know a lot about how things work here."

"Gimme a break." Fuli said with an eyeroll, quickly calling ReiRei's bluff.

"Kion, you don't know how hard it is to start over in a strange place." ReiRei began somberly. "I have to raise fifteen kids, and sometimes my mate, and now we all have to learn how to fit in here. We do so want to be accepted as part of your community. Don't you Pridelanders have a word for that?"

"We do. It's Kupatana." Kion answered, smiling when his idea hatched. "We're all gathering in Mizimu Grove tonight to celebrate it."

"Ah, yes. Kupatana. I've heard of such a wonderful day." ReiRei said, hiding her greediness behind a kind smile. "Perhaps we jackals could... be a part of it?"

Kion ignored ReiRei's please face and set a firm boundary. "So long as you treat the Pridelanders with equal respect. I think your family can pull THAT off."

"Oh, yes. I think we understand now." ReiRei said when backing up to GoiGoi and Dogo. She noticed GoiGoi sleeping again and gave a light hearted laugh. This one was sincere. She loved her husband's goofiness. "He can never get enough hours in."

Kion was glad to hear that. "Well then. With that taken care of, my friends and I have to clean up for Kupatana. I hope to see you there."

Once the Guard left, Stadi followed, and ReiRei showed greed-filled joy. "Oh, you'll see us there all right. I can promise you that."

Stadi walked alongside Kion, following up the question from before. "Kion! I saw some other kids running around and touching each other, and after one of them touched another animal, they laughed and let THAT animal do the chasing! And my tail started wagging!" Kion smiled, glad Stadi was enjoying himself at least. "Do you think that's what fun is?"

"Well, yeah. It's one way to have fun." Kion answered, and Stadi beamed when he heard that. Kion's exact words meant there were lots of ways to have fun. He wanted to have them all!

The Kupatana celebration began! The choir was singing as every animal gathered around. Left and right, animals looked at each other, giving peaceful smiles, and even letting the smaller animals get through to watch the song. "We gather together, great and small. Here we are, every animal of the Pridelands, for this day of peace. Kupatana. Community. One day. Unity. Gather together in peace. Our Kupatana. Community."

Bunga looked around to see if the jackals were there. "Hey Ono. Did Stadi and Dogo's family come?"

Ono looked around, but failed to notice them in the crowd. "I don't see them. They must be in the shadows."

Stadi squeezed his way to a spot where Kion could see him. The two smiled at each other, and Stadi's tail wagged. Simba began his speech right after. "Thank you all for joining us on this lovely night. We're here, not just to witness the blooming of the baobab flowers, but to celebrate our community. Our Kupatana. And to honor all of our roles in the circle of life." Rafiki stepped forward and raised his paw. The animals watched in awe. The first baobab fruit bloomed, and then several more after. The petals spread around all the animals in the Pridelands. One petal even fell on Stadi's nose. He couldn't help but smile at something so beautiful.

ReiRei sniffled a bit at the lovely sight. "I'm more moved than I expected tonight. This is kinda embarrassing." She sniffled a little more before looking around. "So many options. So little time." GoiGoi patted ReiRei's back supportively. After he did, ReiRei's expression turned smug. "Okay. Enough sentimentals. Mama's hungry."

Simba was about to begin the official celebration of Kupatana. "And now, let the Kupatana celebration-" Simba was briefly interrupted by the jackal pups' yipping. This confused him. "Begin?"

The rest of the jackal family started charging at all the animals and disrupting Kupatana! Stadi sighed, reluctantly joining in the rest of his kind. Kion finally realized his mistake but it was too late. "Oh no!"

"Dogo? Stadi?" Bunga was confused, and hurt by what was happening.

"I knew there was a reason Janja let us help those Jackal pups." Fuli deadpanned.

Stadi's reluctance evaporated when he realized how much fun he could still have while following his family's plan. He jumped onto a gazelle's back. "No time to explain! Just keep running around!" The gazelle was too confused to shake Stadi off.

Simba was incredibly confused and shocked by this bizarre turn of events. "What the heck is going on?"

"Sorry, dad. This is my fault." Kion apologized before explaining the situation. "This is ReiRei and her jackal family. I invited them as a way to celebrate Kupatana, but they've taken advantage of my hospitality." Kion stepped forward, giving all of the animals a chance to help stop the jackals. "Everyone; listen up! I know it's sudden, but we need your help! There's too many jackals for just the five Guard members to deal with!"

"Kion is right!" Simba said immediately to back up his son. "Let's defend Kupatana together!" Kion nodded to the Guard after hopping down. They all nodded back, and Ono flew up.

GoiGoi was chasing a monkey when running under an elephant's trunk. Fuli zipped in front of him and stopped him in his tracks. "Huwezi!" GoiGoi tried to run in a different direction, but Fuli stood in his way again, grinning slyly. "Nowhere to run, GoiGoi!"

"That's what YOU think!" GoiGoi tried to turn tail and run, only to charge head first into a tree.

Ono spotted more trouble and warned Beshte. "Beshte! Jackal pups near the giraffes!"

Beshte went into action and knocked all five pups down. "Enough with the nipping!" Once they were in a pile, Beshte checked on them. They were younger than him after all. "You pups okay? Sorry if I was a little too aggressive."

Kion was looking for ReiRei as Bunga jumped onto one of the giraffes. "Zuka Zama!" He jumped behind Dogo, who was chasing a hedgehog before Bunga grabbed his tail. "Gotcha, Dogo! Ya know what? I don't think you're cute anymore."

Kion saw Stadi laughing while riding the running gazelle. This confused him for a bit, but his attention was quickly taken by ReiRei's voice. "Now now, little one! It'll all be over quick!" She picked the hyrax up in delight. "Give me about ten seconds to bite."

"Drop the hyrax, ReiRei!" Kion demanded when tackling ReiRei.

Kion snarled at ReiRei, who feigned innocence. "Why Kion. You look quite upset."

"That's what happens when you lie to someone all day!" Kion shouted.

"Oh no. Do we have another misunderstanding?" ReiRei feigned ignorance again. "These Pridelands rules-"

"Aren't rules you need to worry about anymore, ReiRei." Kion stated boldly. He wasn't having it this time. "You're going back to the Outlands. All of you."

Stadi heard the commotion and shrugged. "Guess we're headed back." He hopped off the gazelle, who stopped running once he did. "Thanks for the ride, miss!" The gazelle looked back in confusion, but decided to just return to her herd. She'd had enough craziness for one day.

ReiRei was desperate once her family gathered around her. The only one missing was Stadi, who got distracted by some flowers on the ground. "Please, just one more chance. That's all we-"

"You heard my son." Simba interrupted. His stern voice filled the jackals with fear as he approached. "Leave! Now."

ReiRei and GoiGoi shared a nod. They knew they weren't getting out of this now. ReiRei got blunt, her tone losing any hint of sweetness "Fair enough. Cmon, kiddies! Guess we're Outlands residents again!" The family ran off, not noticing right away that Stadi wasn't there.

Kion and Simba heard Stadi chewing loudly on a flower, as he came over to them. "Yeah. That happened at our last home too."

"I'm not surprised." Simba said with exhaustion. He turned to the jackal pup, who had swallowed the flower. "I'd hurry home if I were you."

"Yeah, I wouldn't wanna lose them." Stadi admitted, looking at Kion sincerely. "Kion?" Kion was confused for a bit, but he felt a little better when he saw Stadi smile. "Thanks." With that, the pup ran to catch up to his family.

Despite the warmth he got from Stadi, Kion still felt bad about what happened to Kupatana. Simba quickly noticed this. "Kion?"

"I'm sorry, dad. This is all my fault." Kion apologized, knowing how badly he screwed up. He started tapping his paw again, trying to keep himself together.

"Don't forget, Kion. I encouraged you to save those pups." Simba reminded Kion.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me to invite them into the Pridelands." Kion pointed out.

"Maybe not. But it's good that you did." Simba's words surprised Kion. "You made a mistake, Kion. But you made it in the spirit of Kupatana." Kion stopped tapping his paw, intrigued by what Simba was telling him. The King's words spoke over Stadi as he stopped at the edge of the Outlands to look back one more time. He was grateful to learn about fun, even if it didn't last long. "You gave strangers a chance to fit in. To discover something they didn't know before." Perhaps, in the future, there would be more fun moments for him. "We all make decisions that aren't the best, but feel good in the moment." The jackal pup smiled again, before turning back and reuniting with his family. "But they're all decisions to learn from."

Kion smiled gratefully, seeing his dad's point. "Thanks, dad. I just wish THIS lesson didn't come at the cost of the celebration."

"Actually, Kion..." Bunga began before heading over to Kion with some flowers. "I saw Stadi bite one of these earlier. I think he was onto something." Kion listened as Bunga shared his piece. "Usually, we just get to LOOK at these flowers. But now..." Bunga ate one of the flowers, loving the taste so much that he sat down to enjoy the rest. "we know how they taste too. And I couldn't be happier!" Ono started eating some of the blossoms as well. He hummed in approval of the taste. He had to admit; Bunga was right. Beshte ate some as well, along with some other happy animals.

Simba had one more point to make about this year's Kupatana. "That's another thing about unintended consequences." Kion smiled when Simba finished what he had to say. "Some of them can have wonderful outcomes."

Kion thought about Stadi for a bit. For some reason, the jackal pup felt more sincere than his family did. He seemed genuinely curious, and happy to learn. Not just about Kupatana, but about other stuff too; like fun and how the animals here got along. He hoped that someday, he would know for sure. But for now, he would enjoy the rest of Kupatana. He looked at his father gratefully for what he said. "Happy Kupatana, dad."

"Happy Kupatana, Kion." Simba replied, and the Royal Family watched the herbivores eat away at the baobab blossoms.

"Our Kupatana. Community."